Monday, September 23, 2013

Fertility Impact of Oz Women Waiting Too Long To Have Babies

Fertility Impact of Oz
Women Waiting Too Long To Have Babies

The news stories have it well documented. More and more
women the world over are delaying starting a family until they are well into
their 30s, and Australian women are no different. Recent statistical report
from the past 5 years up to present time shows that Australian women are
delaying pregnancy and are having fewer children as a consequence thereof. Because
of this, several questions comes to mind, like: Should Australian women be
delaying pregnancy at all? And to what end? What is the impact on fertility
when it comes to the women of Oz delaying their pregnancy? Is it worth it?

It is not worth it, and for 2 reasons. One, it negatively
affects population. In recent years and looking way back to 1976, the number
of children an Australian woman has is less than 2, meaning the population
turnover cannot even replace itself. Two, staving pregnancy until one is over
the best childbearing years of 20-24 or going for it too early can result to a
multitude of problems and complications.

Delaying pregnancy until over 25 years of age is not new
news. Studies
that have been circulating in the web do show that women are choosing to have
children later on in life and are having fewer
children as a result. The use of contraceptives gave women the power to
choose when not to have children. But is it only the use of contraceptives that
causes a decline in the number of children a woman has as she chooses to delay
getting pregnant? Waiting too long to get pregnant has an impact
on fertility and population. As a woman staves off getting pregnant past her
best fertile years (20-24), she risks a multitude of problems, same as a woman who
has children before her body is mature enough to accommodate another life.

The following enumerates what can go wrong if a woman delays
choosing to conceive:

1. After the age of 25, the chances of conceiving declines
at a steady rate. Supposing that a woman is having regular intercourse which is
2 to 3 times a week; at the age of 25, only 5% will need more than a year to
conceive, but as the woman turns a decade older at 35 years of age, 30% or more
will need more than a year to conceive. If a woman needs to try more and take a
longer time to conceive in her remaining reproductive years, the fewer babies
she would be able to have.

2. Once a woman reaches her 30s, there are more chances of
having miscarriages, or having babies with birth anomalies. This is because of
the fact that as a woman grows older, the quality of the egg she releases also
declines. Hence, the resulting embryo might have a problem latching unto the
womb resulting to a miscarriage. On other times, defective or poor quality egg
may result to a fetus with a birth defect or congenital anomaly that it
spontaneously gets aborted or does not live long, affecting the statistics of
fertility.

3. The risks of having still births hikes up exponentially
once a woman is past 30 years of age. For instance, at age 35, there is 2.5x
more chance of having stillbirth compared to if she is younger, and at age 40,
that possibility is further raised to 5x. Stillbirths does not only directly
fertility statistics of course, but indirectly a well. From a psychological
point of view, a woman who has had a miscarriage is less confident to attempt
conceiving again.

4. A woman’s body is made to be a vessel to nourish and
protect the unborn child. If a woman is too old or too young to have children, biologically
speaking, if below 15 years of age or more than 35 years of age, then she is
more likely to have problems absorbing and utilizing the nutrients needed for
her unborn child’s growth, furthering the need to monitor her diet and
nutritional intake.

5. Those women who stave off pregnancy usually have either
school or work which stresses them out. An unhealthy and stressful
lifestyle affects a woman’s food choices and intake, and also her hormonal
production which are of course highly important in matters of fertility and achieving
conception.

6. Childbirth complications are also increased with both too
young and women over 35 years of age at the time of conception. Simply put, labor and delivery will be a
bloody and difficult affair indeed for women over 35 years of age who of course
are dealing with difficulties brought upon by aging and those who are below 15
whose bodies may not be adequately prepared for birthing.

Are all the negative aspects worth it? With all things
considered, taking too long a time and delaying conceiving a child or having children
is simply not worth it. So, should a woman wait too long to conceive children?
I think not.